Railway car journal box fuse



March 9, 1954 HEBERT 2,671,461

RAILWAY CAR JOURNAL BOX FUSE Filed March 16, 1950 i l p/ /5 0 ,7

IN VEN TOR.

Patented Mar. 9, 1954 RAILWAY CAR JOURNAL BOX FUSE Arthur J. Hebert,Scott, La., assignor to National Alarms Corporation, Lafayette, La., acorporation of Louisiana Application March 16, 1950, Serial No. 149,936

, 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to devices for detecting over-heating in journalboxes on the ends of axles of railway cars and the like, and inparticular this invention relates to a fuse incorporated in a section ofan air line passing through the journal box which when the temperatureof the journal reaches a predetermined degree, melts and opens a valvethat permits passage of air through the line and thereby bringing thetrain to a stop.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a safety device for stoppinga train upon overheating of a journal box thereof whereby wrecks causedby turning off of over-heated axles and the like are substantiallyeliminated.

Various attempts have been made to prevent over-heating of journal boxesof railway trains and indicating devices of different types have beenprovided in combination with the journal boxes but, because safetydevices of this type only function in an emergency so that they remaininactive for long periods of time they cannot be depended upon and incritical cases fail to operate. With this thought in mind this inventioncontemplates a safety device that is positively operated by air pressureof the air system of the train and in which a fusible material releasesthe air pressure when temperature of a journal in which it is installedreaches a predetermined degree.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for forminga safety device for railway car journals that does not requirecontinuous attention and that positively operates when over-heated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety device fordetecting over-heated journal boxes that may be installed in journalboxes now in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety device fordetecting over-heated journal boxes of railway trains that may beinstalled in a journal box Without interfering with changing the brassor bearings thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a safety device fordetecting over-heated journal boxes of railway trains which is of asimple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the inventionembodies an emergency safety device including a valve having a valveelement retained in the position of closing the valve by a fusibleelement with means adjusting the position of the fusible element andwith means for connecting the valve in the air pressure line of thetrain.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional view through part of a railway train showingpart of a wheel, axle, and journal box with part of the journal boxbroken away showing the position of the safety valve in relation to theend of the axle.

Figure 2 is an elevational view showing the safety valve incorporated inthe air pressure line with part of the valve broken away and shown insection. I

Figure 3 is a detail illustrating a fusible element adapted to be usedin the valve.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the safety fuse actuated valve of this inventionincludes a valve body ID, a valve plunger II and a fusible element l2.

The valve body [9 is formed with a centrally disposed cylindricalchamber l3 in which the plunger H is slidably mounted and inlet andoutlet connections [4 and 15, respectively are provided in the body It.The ends of the body are provided with nuts or flat sided flanges l6 andI1 and air pressure tubes 18 and I9 are threaded into the ends of thebody as shown in Figure 2.

The plunger H is provided with a head 20 that is positioned to engage adisc 2| in a recess 22 in the surface of the element 12 and a similardisc 23 on the inner end of an adjusting screw 24 is positioned in arecess 25 in the opposite side of the element.

The fusible element I2 is positioned in a chamber 26 in the valve bonnet21 and the adjusting screw 24, which is provided with a head 28 isthreaded in a cap 29 on the end of the valve bonnet.

With the parts arranged in this manner and with the element l2 formed ofsealing wax or a suitable fusible material, the element will melt whenthe temperature of the end 30 of the axle 3| reaches a predeterminedtemperature and as the element l2 melts the air pressure from the tubeis in the opening [4 forces the plunger ll upwardly whereby the airpasses through the opening 15 to the tube 19 and brings the train to astop. The lower end of the screw 24 limits the upward movement of theplunger l I whereby the air does not escape through the valve.

The lead disc 2! and also the recesses in the element l2 may or may notbe used as desired.

The safety device is installed in a journal box 32 with the tubes l8 andI9 positioned in openings in end walls of the journal box and, asillus-i trated in Figure 1 the openings position the valve with thefusible lement therein located close to the end of the journal andspaced therefrom a sufiicient distance to permit end play of the axle.The device is also positioned at a point below the center of the axle topermit changing the brass of bearing elements in the journal box.

In the design shown the journal box is positioned below a spring 33 andthe box is provided with a cover 34. A wheel 35 is carried by the,

It will be understood that othermodifications within the scope of theappended claim may be made in the design and arrangement of the partswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In a pressure actuated valve for use in a railway car journal box, asubstantially cylindrical valve body having wrench gripping surfaces onthe-ends and a hollow cylindrical casing providing the-valve bonnetextended from one side, said valve body having a vertically disposedbore positioned midway between the ends and extended from said valvebonnet inwardly through the body and to a point spaced from the side ofthe body opposite to that from which the valve bonnet extends, a plungerhaving a head on the upper end slidably mounted in said bore, said valvebody having substantially conical-shaped connections extended inwardlyfrom the ends thereof to the bore and the points of intersection of saidconnections with the bore being offset vertically whereby the plunger isadapted to close a passage between said connections, a block of fusiblema- =References Cited in the file of this patent iUNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date 201,352 Little et a1 Mar. 19, 1878 852,802 Sears May 7,1907 971,295 Menear Sept. 27, 1910 1,047,529 Jenkins Dec. 17, 19121,058,993 Marvin Apr. 15, 1913 1,511,302 lschnetzer OCR-14, 19241,511,978 Muhleback Oct. 14,1924 1,512,456 Carmen Oct; 21, 19241,600,468 Hennebohle Sept. 21, 1926 1,715,665 Mason June 4, 19291,988,907 Lovekin Jan. 22, 1935 2,104,039 Hunter Jan. 4, 1988 2,166,277Adams July 18, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 278,859 GreatvBritain Oct. 20, 1927

